Talking PicturesQuiet Desperation

Her haunting gaze resonates
in my memory like no other image I made while crossing the Tibetan Plateau.
The young nomad girl appeared from nowhere, dressed in hardly more than
rags against the cold Tibetan wind. She never said a word and I wondered
later if she could speak at all. The girl just watched, with a look of
quiet desperation, as I took a break from the grueling overland road known
as the Friendship Highway. She didn't object when I mentioned that
I wanted to take her photograph. She just stood there, alone, very small
and vulnerable, while I made my images. Now, when I look at her photograph,
I think of how difficult her life must be and that she will be old before
her time. My hope is that I see a faint smile on her face. For that may
mean her life isn't one of just quiet desperation on the vast and
beautiful Tibetan Plateau.--Randy Thompson
Savannah, Georgia

The premise of Talking Pictures
is that all of us have images that carry an internal narrative that we rarely
get to share. This entails more than just camera, exposure, and film. It
might include what provoked us to snap the shutter or how, in retrospect,
the image makes us feel.

We invite you to submit images and words for this department. Please send
only one image and brief text with each submission. Because we will print
the pictures large please make sure that the image can take the blowup.
For this department we will accept only high-quality prints (5x7 or 8x10)
and slides--no digital files, please. We will not be able to return
the images to you because of the volume we anticipate receiving. And by
sending us the image you grant us permission to print it in the magazine
and on our web site. We also may hold publication for some time.

So come on, get published and share your ideas and inspiration. Send submissions
to: